


Crime Line

by ConWeCallLove



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, M/M, Undercover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-01 19:11:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6532786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConWeCallLove/pseuds/ConWeCallLove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I don't think you realize what the hell you're getting yourself into here. I'm not a good person, I am not the kind of guy you're supposed to fall in love with. I'm the kind of guy your mother warned you about, I'm the one who's going to destroy every part of you without even blinking an eye. This doesn't end well for you, there are no such thing as happy endings when it comes to loving me. So do yourself a favor and get out while you can."</p>
<p>Or the one where Harry's the son of London's biggest mobster and Liam's the undercover cop determined to take him down</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

zero: the shoot out

"You're late." Louis says, moving from his spot against his car as Harry slams his own car door. Harry just rolls his eyes, walking over to Louis as the older of the two pops open the trunk to reveal the reason why the two of them were meeting so late at night. Harry grimaces a little at the sight, he didn't think he was ever going to get used to the sight of dead bodies. 

"Sorry, didn't realize we scheduled a time to dump a body." Harry says, moving the sheet so that it was covering the face of the middle aged man. It was Louis' turn to roll his eyes before he reaches into his back pocket for the pair of latex gloves he'd brought along with him. Harry does the same, smirking a little as he taps Louis' bum. Louis lets out a huff, glaring at Harry who just continues to smirk. It was one of Harry's favorite past times, riling Louis up. He always knew the best ways to push his buttons. 

"Vic won't be too happy if we don't get this done, Harry." Louis says, moving Harry's hand away so he could reach for the top half of the body. Harry just shrugs, reaching for the bottom half. Together they pulled the body out of the car, walking to the edge of the dock slowly. They stopped at the edge, Harry nodding before they toss it over.

"Hope you have a nice sleep with the fishes, Benny boy." Harry says, waving his hand which earns a snort from Louis before he takes his gloves off. Harry does the same, passing his gloves over to Louis who throws them into his back pocket again. Harry quirks an eyebrow at that, earning a look from Louis.

"Be sure to burn those when you get back to the house." 

"You act like this is my first time dumping a body." Louis retorts, rolling his eyes before walking with Harry towards their cars. 

"Well you put the gloves in your back pocket, you might wanna burn the jeans too." Harry points out, earning yet another eye roll from Louis. 

"I'd rather not, these are my favorite pair." 

"Mine too, they make your ass look fantastic." Harry says, winking at Louis who once again rolls his eyes but a small smile was on his face anyways. Louis lets out a quiet squeak of surprise when Harry pins him against his car, the younger of the two leaning down to kiss Louis rather harshly. Harry's hands were already pulling at Louis' clothes, unbuttoning his pants and pulling his shirt over his head.

"What about Vic?" Louis practically pants out after Harry finally pulls away.

"Daddy can wait a little while longer." Harry whispers as he finally pulls Louis' pants down. Louis lets out a giggle as Harry hoists him up onto the hood of the car, only to push against Harry's chest when he sees the headlights of another car.

"Shit, we've got company." Louis says, shoving Harry away and quickly pulling up his pants. Harry throws his head back as he lets out a loud groan. 

"I swear to god if that's f ucking Malik, I'll shoot him myself." Harry says, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks over towards the light. The two boys couldn't make out the car or rather who was driving it. Louis stands behind Harry, a hand on his arm as he bites down on his bottom lip.

"I think we should go, Harry. I don't think that's Zayn..." Louis says quietly, tugging at Harry's arm only to have Harry shrug him off. This doesn't help Louis' bad feeling, if Harry wasn't willing to leave and this wasn't one of their men... There was no way they were getting out of here without some sort of fight. 

"Why? This is our turf, if anyone should be leaving it's them." Harry says, continuing to stare down the car. Harry wouldn't admit this to Louis, but he did have a pretty sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. If it was any of Wilson's men, there was no guarantee there wouldn't be a fight. 

"Harry..." Louis tries again as whoever was driving the car turns it off. Two people climb out the front seat, one of them walking towards the back seat to open the door. A rather tall man climbs out, shutting the door behind him before he starts to walk towards the front of the car. Harry still stands his ground though, moving so he's standing more in front of Louis now. The other person finally reaches the front of the car, the car's headlights illuminating their back. 

"Didn't I tell you two to take the body upstream?" The voice of Victor Styles sounds out and Harry lets out a really loud groan as he once again throws his head back. It was just typical of his father to show up and patronize him.

"This was about as upstream as we could get, unless of course you wanted us to cross "enemy lines"." Harry says, doing air quotes around the words enemy lines. Harry couldn't make out the expression on his father's face, but he was more than positive that it was one both unamusement and disapproval. 

"This isn't some sort of joke, Harry. You both know the cops are watching this dock, so you better hope they don't find that body." Victor says, shaking his head before walking back towards the back of the car. One of the body guards opens the door for him and the elderly man starts to climb in when a loud shot sounds through the night and hits the body guard. Harry and Louis both drop to the ground, using their own car as a shield as Victor's other body guard shoves him into his car. The other body guard runs around to his driver seat, jumping into the car and speeding off.

"F ucking coward." Harry says, staring after the retreating car only to duck again when another shot is fired. Harry shields Louis, poking his head out from his spot at the back end of the car to see if he could make out anyone only to duck back down when another shot is fired. The bullet grazes Harry's arm and the young man lets out a curse before pulling out the gun he kept on his side. Louis grabs at his arm though, causing Harry to look at him. 

"Don't, it'll just make it worse." Louis says, earning a look of complete bewilderment from Harry.

"You're joking right? That son of a bitch just shot me." 

"Last thing we need is another reason for the cops to come looking for us, if we shoot that guy we place ourselves at the scene. We need to get the fuck out of here, Harry." 

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that? Because last I checked, there's someone shooting at us every f ucking chance he gets." Harry says through gritted teeth, still looking at Louis like he'd lost his mind. 

"Getting short with me isn't going to help our situation, Harry. Get in the fucking car already." Louis nearly shouts, scooting back so he's able to open the back door. 

"Why don't you get in the car? I'm a far better shot and we can't exactly leave the dead guy over there." Harry says, gesturing the the body that was sitting where Victor's car had just been. 

"Jesus Christ, Harry. I'll grab him, just cover me." Louis says, taking a deep breath. He counts to three before standing up and running over to the body. He could hear shots being fired but none of them were hitting him. Louis lets out a grunt as he grabs the body from underneath his arms, practically dragging it back over to Harry's car and throwing the body into the back seat. Louis climbs in after it, holding the door open for Harry who slams it shut. 

"What the fuck are you doing?" Louis shouts, staring at Harry in disbelief as the younger of the two runs over to Louis' car. Louis catches on to what he's doing when Harry climbs into Louis' car. Louis climbs into Harry's driver seat, reaching for the keys that he knew Harry kept in the sun visor. Louis starts Harry's car, not even bothering to look out the rear window as he threw the car into reverse. Louis is the first to leave, speeding out of the dock entrance with Harry not too far behind. 

"Simple body dump my ass."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I don't think you realize what the hell you're getting yourself into here. I'm not a good person, I am not the kind of guy you're supposed to fall in love with. I'm the kind of guy your mother warned you about, I'm the one who's going to destroy every part of you without even blinking an eye. This doesn't end well for you, there are no such thing as happy endings when it comes to loving me. So do yourself a favor and get out while you can."
> 
> or the one where Harry's the son of London's biggest mobster and Liam's the undercover cop determined to take him down

one: the body off the pier

Liam Payne walks into the police station just after eight, frowning a little at how empty it seemed to be. Normally the station was buzzing at eight in the morning, but no one was even in the front office area. Liam could hear the t.v. in the break room and the rookie cop walked in to see everyone sitting in there with eyes glued to the t.v.

"What's going on?" Liam asks, sitting down next to one of the other officers.

"You remember how that politician went missing last week?" The officer asks and Liam nods. Everyone knew about that case, it was the departments main focus.

"Yeah. Benjamin Martinez right?" Liam asks earning a nod from his fellow officer. 

"They found his body just off the shipping dock where that shoot out took place. Chief seems to think it's connected to Styles." Benjamin Martinez was a key player in London's war on the drug cartel, so it made sense to Liam why their boss assumed it was connected with London's biggest drug lord or whatever the hell they called him nowadays. 

"Chief thinks everything is connected to Styles." Liam points out, but the other officer didn't seem to be paying much attention to Liam now. It wasn't long before the t.v. went back to it's normally scheduled programming and everyone in the room left with a frown on their faces. It didn't last for very long before the police chief called them all into the meeting room. Liam sits at the back, looking at the white board the chief had set up behind him.

Liam knew exactly what was on that board, it was the first thing he'd noticed when he first started working here. It was a lay out of London's biggest drug operation and who was apart of it. On the top of the triangle sat Victor Styles, below him were three young men all around Liam's age. As far as Liam knew, the man directly under Victor was his first in command and his son Harry. The other two men were Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, Victor's second and third in command. There were others in the triangle, body guards, known allies, know enemies, anyone who had any sort of connection with the Styles family was up there. If someone so much as looked in the direction of Victor Styles, their name and picture sat on that wall. 

"Everyone, settle down." Chief Wilkinson says, standing at the podium as he scans over the room. Everyone in the room quieted down, taking their places as they all looked up at Wilkinson expectantly. The lights in the room dim and a small slideshow screen appears on the white board. On it currently was a picture of Benjamin Martinez.

"Thank you, now as I'm sure you're all aware we've got ourselves another murder. Benjamin Martinez was found just off shipping dock four this morning after police received a distress call about shots being fired. They stumbled upon the body on complete accident." Wilkinson says, hitting the button on his clicker to change the picture to one of the crime scene. 

"Blood and bullet casings were both found at the scene but we have yet to match the blood to Martinez and we are waiting on results of for the bullet casings. We have reason to believe that Victor Styles may have something to do with Martinez's murder, according to his cell records Styles was the last to call Martinez before his disappearance. There is no room for mistakes, people. If we can place Styles or any of his gang at the scene, we can take that son of a bitch down. So look for mistakes, double check and triple check everything. If you find anything, report it to me directly. That is all." Wilkinson finishes and the lights in the room flicker back on. Everyone stands up from their spots, filing out of the room. Liam waits by his seat, not wanting to force his way out of the room. 

"Officer Payne, can I have a moment?" Wilkinson asks as soon as the last person files out of the room. Liam gives him a quick nod before walking up to where Wilkinson was still standing. 

"What's up?" Liam asks, internally grimacing at the fact he'd actually asked his boss what's up. Wilkinson takes a deep breath, walking over to the small desk at the front of the room and grabs the file that sits on top. 

"What's this?" 

"It's your new case." Wilkinson says, looking at Liam expectantly as the young officer flips it open. Liam frowns, unsure of what exactly this meant. It was a file on Harry Styles, all the information they had on him inside of it. 

"Sir, forgive me but I'm a little confused..." Liam says, looking at Wilkinson who lets out a soft sigh. 

"That's to be expected, you haven't worked here for very long. Liam, what I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room. Am I understood?" Liam nods with no hesitation whatsoever and Wilkinson walks up to the door leading to the meeting hall. He closes it, turning the lock so that no one who interrupt him. 

"As you know, our departments top priority is taking down this godawful drug ring we've got here and our first step is taking down Victor Styles. I've created a task force dedicated to this task and I would like you to be apart of it." 

"Why me?" Liam asks, unsure of why the chief had picked him out of everyone else in the department.

"I need you to get close to Harry, I need you to find out from him what his father's weakest point is so we can take that son of a bitch down. You're the same age as his other known associates and you're the only one in this department who hasn't given me a reason not to trust you. I've already got a man on the inside, he's been there for nearly two years and he's going to be your ticket inside." 

"Then why doesn't he just do it?" 

"It doesn't work like that... Our man on the inside's job is to get close to Victor but it isn't working. Harry hates his father as far as we know and he's more likely to give us what we need. I'm not saying this is going to be easy for you, Liam. And I understand if you don't want to do this but honestly we're getting to our last resorts here." Wilkinson says, looking at Liam with a hopeful expression. Liam bites down on his bottom lip, looking over the file again. 

"This will get me off desk duty, right?" Liam asks earning a small laugh from Wilkinson before he nods. 

"It might even get you one hell of a promotion if you manage to pull this off. I take it that you're in then?" Wilkinson asks, holding out his hand for Liam to shake. Liam smiles softly before taking it.

"I'm in."


	3. two: stitches and body guards

two: stitches and body guards

"Stop being such a baby, I'm almost finished." Zayn says, rolling his eyes when Harry lets out another hiss as Zayn stitches up the gash on his arm. Harry had only just returned back to the home, more than ready to go give his father a piece of his mind but Zayn had caught him before he got the chance. Apparently Louis had let it slip that Harry got shot to Zayn and both of them knew that Harry would absolutely refuse to do anything about it unless one of them sat him down. Zayn had taken it upon himself to be the one to do it, forcing his best friend to sit down so he could stitch him up.

"This is completely unnecessary." Harry grumbles, clenching his eyes shut as Zayn adds another stitch. Zayn doesn't respond to him, finishing up the last stitch before cutting the thread. 

"There, you're done." Zayn says, sitting back in his chair. Harry opens his eyes, giving Zayn a small glare before he stands up from his seat at the kitchen table. Harry is already getting ready to leave the kitchen to go and confront his father, he was still pissed from earlier. 

"Where are you going?" 

"To find my mother's sperm donor." Harry says his voice coming out bitter as he pushes open the kitchen door. Zayn lets out a sigh before following after Harry, already knowing that this wasn't going to end well. 

"Harry, don't you think you should calm down a little before you do that? Last time didn't end too well." Zayn says, unable to mask the worried expression on his face as Harry continues to walk towards the stairs that led up to Victor's office. Zayn stops following him at that point, not wanting to be thrown into the middle of yet another famous Styles argument. Harry eventually makes it Victor's office, not even bothering to knock on the door. Victor is sitting at his desk, a pair of glasses sitting on the edge of his nose as he looks over some paperwork. He doesn't look up when Harry walks in, he doesn't look up when Harry slams his hands on the desk, he doesn't even seem to acknowledge that Harry was even in the room. The room is filled with an uncomfortable silence, Harry pretty much seething and Victor pretending that Harry didn't even exist. 

"Can I help you?" Victor finally asks, looking away from the paper.

"You're a coward. You left Louis and I alone on that f ucking pier. I got shot and we both risked our lives getting your body guard's body into my car. You're really not helping your case with the cops here, Pops." Harry says, his voice holding a cynical tone to it as he throws his hands up in the air. Victor lets out a sigh, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. 

"What did you expect me to do? Stay there and risk my own life?" Victor asks and Harry lets out a loud laugh before shaking his head. 

"Do you even care about anyone but yourself? You just left him there like he was nothing, you left your own son there like I was nothing." Harry says through gritted teeth, breathing through his nose as he tries to calm down but just the mere sight of his father set him on edge. 

"You're more than capable of taking care of yourself, I knew that. What happened to Peter was unfortunate, but there's nothing I could've done. Are you done yelling at me?" Victor asks, his expression a displeased one as Harry lets out another scoff.

"You're a prick." 

"Dully noted, now we've got some business to discuss. Now that Peter is gone, I'm going to be moving Zayn to his position as my body guard. We're going to need to find someone to replace him and we're going to need a few more runners. Louis is compiling a list for us to go over later this evening." 

"I don't want Zayn to be your body guard." 

"Well that's not up to you and it's not up for discussion." 

"Like hell it isn't. Zayn is my best friend and if you're picking him because I'm acting out that's not a good enough reason. Pick someone else." Harry says, folding his arms over his chest as he glares at his father. Victor rolls his eyes, shaking his head as he turns his attention back to the paper work on his desk.

"I've already made my choice, I don't care if you don't like it. You're excused for the rest of the day, Harry. I expect you back tonight however." Victor says, not even caring that Harry storms out of the room. He slams the door shut behind him, the sound echoing through the rather large house. Harry is taking deep breaths, trying to calm down. All he wanted to do was shoot something, or rather someone but he knew that wasn't going to help anything. 

"Uncle Harry?" A small voice sounds out and Harry looks down to see his four year old nephew Jacob standing at his feet. Harry plasters on a fake smile before crouching down to Jacob's level, ruffling his hair.

"Hey buddy, what are you doing up here? You know you're not supposed to come upstairs..." Harry says quietly, wrapping an arm around Jacob as he stands back up. Jacob just shrugs, playing with Harry's hair that sat on his shoulders.

"Dunno. Thought my daddy and mummy were up here." Jacob says, looking at the door that Harry had just come out of. 

"He's on a business trip, bud. Remember?" Harry says, not having the heart to tell Jacob where his parents really were. 

"When will he be home?"Jacob asks, looking at Harry with his wide green eyes. Harry gives him another tight smile, placing a soft kiss on his forehead as he chooses not to answer his question. 

"C'mon kiddo, let's go get you something to eat." Harry whispers, walking with Jacob back downstairs. Harry gives Zayn a look as he walks into the kitchen, but he chooses not to say what's on his mind right now. He was more focused on keeping Jacob distracted for the time being.


	4. three: the inside man

three: the inside man

It was the next morning that Liam found himself sitting alone at a table in some random cafe downtown. He was waiting for Wilkinson's inside man and whoever he was, he was late. Liam was about to call it a day, figuring he could just tell the chief that it had been a bust and they could always try again tomorrow. But as Liam got ready to leave, someone sat in the chair across from him. Liam's mouth literally drops open when he sees who it is, never in a million years did he think he'd see Louis Tomlinson sitting across from him.

"Can... can I help you?" Liam finds himself whispering. There was no way in hell this was Wilkinson's inside man.

"You're Liam Payne." Louis says, almost like it was the most obvious question in the world. Liam hesitates for a moment, unsure if he should be talking to Louis or not. None of it made sense, how could Louis be their inside man? How come he hadn't taken down Victor himself yet? As far as Liam knew, Louis was his third in command. Not a position one is just handed to on a platter.

"Look kid, I don't have time for you to sit here and have your little inner debate. I have a job to do and Wilkinson seems to think you're the one to help me. So if that's the case, I would really like to get this over with." Louis says, looking around the cafe almost like he was nervous someone was following him or something.

"You're just not who I was expecting is all..." Liam finds himself saying and Louis nods a little at that because that was the whole point of all of this. 

"That's because I'm good at my job, and I need you to be good at yours." Louis says, looking at Liam who is biting his bottom lip.

"What exactly is it that I'm going to be doing? Wilkinson said he wanted me to get close with Harry, but he didn't exactly explain how I'm supposed to do that." Liam asks, waiting patiently for Louis to answer. Louis lets out a sigh, running a hand through his hair before leaning forward onto the table. Liam has to lean forward a little too, unable to really hear Louis due to how quietly he was speaking.

"Victor lost a bodyguard last night, that's whose blood they found at the scene this morning. Vic is taking Zayn as his new bodyguard, leaving Harry down a man. He's going to need a third in command and it's going to be you." Louis says, almost like it was the most obvious answer in the world. Liam was still confused though.

"How are you so sure that it's going to be me he chooses?"

"Because they always choose family and that's exactly what we are. You're posing as my half brother on my dear old Dad's side." Louis says, leaning back in his chair with a small smile while Liam continues to stare at Louis.

"I don't look a thing like you though and won't it seem a bit odd that you suddenly have a brother?" Liam asks earning an eye roll from Louis. Liam could tell that Louis' patience was starting to run thin, not that Liam could really blame him though.

"You're making this far more complicated than it needs to be. You need to relax and just trust me alright? I've been working with the Styles family for nearly two and a half years now, I know how these people work... They trust me so naturally if I tell them you're my brother they'll believe me. Stop over thinking this." Louis says and Liam's not really sure if he's trying to be reassuring or not.

"If you know these people so well, why does Wilkinson need me? Why haven't you taken down Victor yourself?"

"You ask too many questions."

"Forgive me for wanting to actually know what I'm getting myself into here. Wilkinson wasn't exactly forthcoming with information. Why haven't you taken them down?" Liam asks again earning a sigh from Louis as he looks around the cafe. The older of the two boys bites down on his lip, running a hand through his hair before he finally looks at Liam again.

"I did something I wasn't supposed to. I got involved with someone on the inside and now if I take them down the whole case falls apart. That's why we need you."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter who, alright? Are you in or not?" Louis asks, an annoyed expression on his face as he looks at Liam.

"How am I supposed to trust you if you're not willing to trust me?"

"You're not supposed to trust me, Liam. You're not supposed to trust anyone but yourself. I am not going to be your friend just because we're after the same thing, I am not going to trust you just because dear old Willy decided that he was going to put you on the inside. I want Victor gone just as badly as he does, but there are people in that house that I'm not going to let you bring down with him. You're going to be thrown into a literal house of horrors, you're going to wish you never decided to join this team, this job is either going to make or break you. So I'm not going to ask you again, are you in or are you out?" Louis asks, getting ready to leave when Liam doesn't answer him for a few seconds. Liam takes a deep breath, closing his eyes before nodding.

"When do I start?" Liam asks, looking at Louis once more. Louis grins, looking down asks his watch.

"Right now."


	5. four: the new guy

four: the new guy

"Jacob you gotta stay in your room for the next few hours, can you do that for me?" Harry says quietly, placing the four year old down on his feet only to earn a small pout from Jacob. 

"It is boring in here, I don't like it." 

"I know you don't and I'm sorry. I promise that I'll take you to the park or something tomorrow, alright?" Harry tries to promise, but he could already tell that he wasn't going to be able to keep that promise. Jacob lets out a small sigh before he nods though, continuing to pout before walking into his bedroom. Harry lets out a sigh of his own, running a hand through his hair as he bites down on his bottom lip. He jumps a little when someone taps his shoulder, turning around with a glare when he sees it's Zayn.

"Don't do that."

"Victor wants you." Zayn whispers, giving Harry an apologetic look but that doesn't soften the glare that Harry was giving him. Zayn knew Harry was pissed, maybe not at him entirely but he was definitely pissed with someone. 

"Tell him to f uck off." Harry says back, pushing past Zayn only to have him grabs his arm.

"I'm sorry." 

"You didn't have to take the job, you could've told him no. You could've told him to f uck off. Jesus Zayn, I knew you were wanting to get out but dying seems a bit dramatic." 

"I didn't have a choice in the matter Harry, you of all people should know that. Trust me, I hate the son of a bitch just as much as you do... The last thing I wanted to do was be his f ucking wing man. So get off of it, alright? There's nothing either of us could've done, he made the choice for both of us as soon as Peter got shot." Zayn says, an unhappy expression on his face as he folds his arms over his chest. 

"You should've said no." 

"Well I didn't, so stop. Stop getting pissed at me for something I couldn't control. Now if you're done being little miss princess, Victor is waiting for you in his office. Louis' got my replacement." Zayn says, pushing past Harry and walking down the hall towards his designated room. Harry watches him go, biting his bottom lip yet again before he does as Zayn says and goes towards Victor's office. He doesn't even bother to knock, walking right in and practically slamming the door. Everyone in the room looks towards Harry, not that he really gave a shit at the moment. He just wanted to get his over and done with, he was finished with this day. 

"Don't stop on my account, please carry on." Harry says, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he leans against the book shelf next to the door. He crosses his arms over his chest, looking over at Louis who was standing to Victor's side. Louis gives Harry a soft smile, biting down on his bottom lip before he looks back at Victor. Harry isn't paying attention to what his father is saying, instead he was focused on the man sitting in the chair across from him. Almost instantly, Harry knew this guy was going to be a royal pain in his ass. He could just tell by the way he kept smiling at Victor, total kiss ass, he was probably actually gunning for Daddy's body guard instead of his. He was young though, couldn't be more than two years older than Harry... so maybe Victor would give him a shot after he got rid of Zayn. 

"Harry, are you even listening?" Victor's voice interrupts Harry's inner dialogue. Harry stands up a little straighter, looking over at his father.

"No." Harry says honestly, earning a glare from his father.

"As I was saying, I want you to take Liam here on a tour of the house. I also need you to stop by The Beaumont tonight, make sure that everything is running it's course. I'm sure you can manage that." Victor says, his voice holding a condescending tone to it which in turn really didn't make Harry want to do as he was told. 

"Whatever, is that all you wanted?" 

"For tonight." Victor says and he's already going back to the paper work on his desk, ending the conversation. Louis, Liam and Harry all walk out of the room at that point, Louis shutting the door behind them. They all stand awkwardly, Liam not knowing what to do and Harry too irritated to introduce himself. 

"Harry, this is uh... this is Liam. He's my brother." Louis says quietly, gesturing towards Liam who holds out his hand for Harry to shake only to have Harry ignore it. 

"Follow me." Harry says instead, already walking away from his father's office and towards the stairs. Liam looks over at Louis, unsure if he was actually supposed to follow Harry or not. Louis rolls his eyes before shoving Liam towards Harry. Liam stumbles, but catches himself just when Harry turns around to glare at him. Liam gives him a sheepish smile which fades as Harry continues to glare at him. 

"I don't have time for this. Louis, you show him around." Harry says, already walking down the stairs.

"I can't show him around, Harry. I still gotta go interview runners... Take him with you to the club, I'll show him around tomorrow." Louis says back and Harry stopped walking. He lets out a sigh before turning around to face the two men at the top. 

"Fine, but if he can't keep up it's not my fault he got lost." Harry says, not even waiting before he starts walking yet again. Louis shoves Liam towards the stairs, earning a look from Liam as he stumbles once again.

"Don't screw this up."


	6. Chapter 6

five: the beaumont

Liam knew they'd reached The Beaumont the second Harry turned down on it's street. The sound of the music playing was loud, echoing down the street. The smell of cheap booze and perfume could be smelt from miles away. Liam had only heard stories of The Beaumont so he wasn't quite sure what was awaiting him on the inside. The only true fact he knew was that it was Victor's main source of income, almost all of his drug deals seemed to take place inside the club... not that Wilkinson had ever been able to prove it.

Harry pulls up behind the club, parking his car haphazardly before climbing out. He doesn't even wait for Liam, already walking towards the back entrance of the club and going inside. Liam had to pretty much run to keep up, coughing rather harshly when he enters the club. Harry wasn't too far ahead of him when he made it inside. 

"Try to keep up, you're the one who's supposed to be baby sitting me. Not the other way around." Harry says bitterly, rolling his eyes when Liam looks around the club with wonderment. Harry honestly hated his father's club, it was a place filled with drugs, sex and alcohol which was fun and all... but not when Victor sent Harry there for business. 

"What are we supposed to do here?" Liam asks, purely out of curiosity. Harry rolls his eyes again, stopping for a moment so that he can look at Liam. 

"We're checking on the club, making sure it's serving it's purpose. Now are you done acting like a kid in a candy store?" 

"I'm sorry... This is all new for me." Liam says, earning a look from Harry.

"Really? Louis said your father used to be a club owner." Harry says, folding his arms over his chest. Liam nods, even though his heart dropped a little due to the fact that he hadn't been aware of that fact. Louis had done his best in filling Liam in on their backstory as brothers, but it appeared as Louis had forgotten a thing or two.

"Dad wasn't really in my life until I was twelve. By then he'd sold the club." Liam lies, praying to god that Harry would leave it at that. 

"That must've been nice. I wish I could say my daddy had the decency to do the same." Harry's voice is bitter and he's already walking away before Liam had the chance to say anything else. Harry walks down to the main floor, smiling and greeting the occasional person as Liam just trails behind him. 

"Harry, darling!" A male's voice sounds out over the music and Harry finally stops walking again. A small blonde is standing by the bar counter, wearing nothing but a gold speedo. Liam' quirks an eyebrow at that, a little taken aback but it wasn't the weirdest thing he'd seen that day. Harry seems to know who this man is, pulling him in for a side hug and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. 

"You missed my show tonight." The boy points out, crossing his arms over his chest as Harry gives him a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry, I had other business to take care of. Maybe you can give me a private one later?" Harry says, a wicked grin on his face which earns a faint blush from the blonde.

"Call me, I'll see what I can do. What are you doing here anyways?" 

"Daddy wanted me to check on things, he just can't stand the thought of this little old place being burnt to the ground. You wouldn't by chance know where last nights proceeds are, would you Niall?" Harry asks, looking at Niall with that stupid smile as Niall nods excitedly. Liam's eyes widen when Niall leans over the counter, one of his ass cheeks sticking out of the speedo as he grabs what Liam is assuming was cash. He pulls out a brown paper bag, passing it over to Harry with a big ass grin on his face.

"Here you go, love. Everything from last night." Niall says, earning a kiss on the cheek from Harry.

"I'll call you." Harry says, waving goodbye to Niall before walking away from the bar. Liam follows him, looking around the club still in search of something he could report back to Wilkinson but it appeared as if the place was like any normal club. There didn't appear to be anything exactly illegal going on. 

"I will leave your ass here, don't think I won't." Harry pretty much groans, grabbing Liam's arm and dragging him behind him. Liam tries to ignore the slight jolt that went across his skin when Harry touched him, so he focuses on Harry's attitude towards him. He waits until they're back at the car again, not wanting Harry to get pissed and end up leaving him at the club just to spite him. 

"Do you want to tell me what your problem is with me? Last I checked, I'm supposed to be your body guard." Liam points out, earning what seemed to be the millionth eye roll from Harry that day alone. 

"I don't need a body guard, especially you. I don't trust you, I don't like you, so do yourself a favor and quit. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into here."

"I think I know what I'm getting myself into here, and I'm not going to just let you threaten me. We're going to have to trust each other, alright? So stop with the whole daddy complex and stop being a prick." Liam says, glaring over at Harry as the younger of the two stares at him. Harry doesn't say anything, mainly because he was taken aback by what Liam had said. 

And it was Liam's turn to smirk.


	7. Chapter 7

six: the fountain

"This is going to be your room." Louis says, stopping at the last door on the second floor. Liam lets out a sigh before nodding, walking into the room with his hands in his pockets. He wasn't exactly too keen on staying in this living hell of house, but according to Louis it was to keep up appearances. 

"Alright. Thanks." Liam says, earning a small nod from Louis before he closes Liam's door. Louis lets out a small sigh as he walks back down the hall towards the stair case. The house was often silent this late at night, majority of the inhabitants having gone to bed hours ago. Victor wasn't a fan of long nights, so he liked to have the house silent as early as he possible could. Louis walks down the stairs, already knowing exactly where Harry was. He goes out to the back patio where Harry is standing, looking out into the courtyard with about half of a bottle of scotch in his right hand. Louis joins him, standing next to him as he carefully grabs the bottle from Harry and takes a swig. 

"What are you thinking about?" Louis asks, looking over at Harry who takes the bottle back from Louis. 

"What I'm always thinking about." 

"That's not vague at all." 

"What do you want me to say, Louis? Today has been one of the shittiest days of my life, alright? I hate my father, I hate this stupid house, I hate the fact that I can't tell Jacob what really happened to his parents, and most of all I hate my father. He doesn't give a single shit about anyone but himself, he thinks he can get away with anything just because he's the boss." Harry says, his voice beyond bitter at this point as he takes that bottle and throws it back. Louis can only watch, knowing full well where this was going to go. Harry was going to get drunk, he was going to get angry, then he was probably going to want to blow off some steam which Louis was more than willing to help him with. 

"This isn't exactly news, Harry. He's always been a dick."

"This time is different." 

"How? So what he picked Zayn? What's the big deal?" Louis asks and Harry lets out a loud scoff as he glares over at Louis.

"Because he could've picked anyone else in that stupid house, but he just had to pick my best friend. He might as well have picked Jacob." Harry takes another long drink from the now almost empty bottle before throwing it at the wall of the house. The sound of shattering glass echoes through the courtyard, causing Louis to flinch and a light flickers back on inside the house. Harry doesn't care though, breaking out into a fit of manic laughter and all Louis can do is watch. In the two years that Louis had known Harry, he'd only seen him like this twice. This being the second time, the first had happened almost two years ago when Harry's sister had passed away. 

"Harry... I think we should head inside..." Louis says quietly, placing a hand onto Harry's arm only to have the younger boy shrug it off. 

"You go ahead, I'm staying out here." Harry says, walking across the broken glass on the patio so that he can walk out onto the yard. Louis watches him, biting his bottom lip as Harry stuffs his hands into the pockets of his pants. He walks down to the small fountain that sat in the middle, standing in front of it as he just stares at it. Louis continues to stand back, knowing better than to join Harry. He still doesn't join him when Harry climbs up onto the edge of the fountain, watching as the young man sticks his hand into the streaming water. Harry slowly lowers himself down into the water, not caring as it filled up his shoes.

"Harry..." Louis calls out, suddenly feeling nervous as to where this was going. If it was like the last time, it was only a matter of time before Harry did something stupid. So Louis starts walking towards the fountain, careful not to spook Harry. 

"I wanna runaway from here, Louis. I don't want to stay here, I don't want to pretend like this place isn't a nightmare." Harry says, his voice still quiet as he continues to stand in the water. Louis stands off to the side, biting his bottom lip when Harry lets out a bitter laugh. Harry looks over at Louis, pushing back his hair before finally climbing out of the fountain. 

"What's stopping you?" Louis asks, watching as Harry pulls off his soaking wet shoes and socks. Harry places the on the edge of the fountain, refusing to answer Louis for a moment. 

"Unlike you, I don't have a choice as to whether or not I get to stay. I can't leave Jacob here alone with that sick bastard because knowing my father, he'll give him a goddamn pistol for his fifth birthday instead of that lego set he's been dying for. And before you say that I can just take him with me, I can't do that to him either." Harry whispers before he starts to walk back towards the house. Louis just watches him, letting out a sigh because that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach was coming back.


	8. Chapter 8

seven: just the messenger

"We're down on quota this month..." Victor says, scanning the papers on his desk with a scowl. Harry rolls his eyes, leaning against the bookcase as he pretends to be more interested in his hands than he was about what his father was saying. Even if Harry said something about what Victor should do to increase their profits, it would just fly over his head. If it wasn't Victor's idea to begin with, none of it mattered. It was one of the many things that drove Harry crazy about his father, all he cared about was himself. 

"How many runners did Louis get us?" Victor asks, finally looking up at Harry who returns the look. 

"Four, one for each district. I suggest we wait to send them out though, more cops seem to be on patrol now after they found Martinez last week. We can't afford to make any mistakes right now." Harry says and Victor lets out a long sigh before running a hand over his face. 

"If we don't send the runners out, we lose more quota. We need the runners out there." Victor says, keeping his gaze locked with Harry's to make sure he understood that Victor wasn't just playing around. Harry lets out a sigh, wanting to scream at his father that he was being an idiot but he knew that wasn't going to go over well. 

"We can wait for this to die down, it'll only take another week maybe two at the most. They can't place us at the scene, Louis made sure of it." Harry says, making sure Victor realizes just how serious he's being but once again it seemed to just go over Victor's head. 

"We need the profit now, Harry." 

"It can wait a week. It's not like we're going to be in financial ruin just because we couldn't meet one months quota." Harry says, rolling his eyes as Victor just stares at Harry like he'd lost his mind. That was thing about Victor, he was all about the money and he would risk absolutely everything to make sure he got it. 

"I want runners sent out to the downtown district, that way if they get caught the cops will just assume it's just a random drug deal. I want Liam and Louis to go back to the pier, just to watch it and make sure there isn't anything Louis missed the first time. As for you, make another stop at The Beaumont and maybe make an appearance at Mr. Martinez's funeral." Victor says, his attention already going back to all the papers on his desk. Harry knows that at that point, everything he said Victor would just ignore. 

So Harry doesn't say anything, walk out of the room with a very irritated expression on his face. Zayn is just barely walking out of his bedroom when he runs into Harry, catching the younger boy's arm only to have Harry shrug him off and continue walking towards the stairs. Zayn bites his bottom lip, hating the fact that Harry wouldn't so much as look at him with anything but a glare now. 

"Harry... Can you at least talk to me?" Zayn calls out, standing at the top of the stairs as he watches Harry walk away from him. It had been nearly a week and Harry refused to even talk to Zayn. 

"Not today." Harry calls back, eventually making it down to the main floor. Louis is waiting for Harry in the living room, standing up from his spot in the living room chair with a smile that almost instantly faded. 

"Well good morning sunshine." Louis says, earning a glare from Harry as he walks right past Louis and towards the front door. Louis could tell that this was going to be another day where Harry acted like he had a stick up his ass. 

"What's my agenda for the day, boss?" Louis asks, his voice holding a snarky tone to it as he leans back onto the chair again. Harry takes a deep breath, running a hand through his hair before turning around to get a better look at Louis.

"You're taking Liam to the pier, just to make sure you got everything cleaned up. Victor wants runners posted in the downtown district today, make sure if they get caught they aren't able to be traced back to us. I'm heading down to The Beaumont and then I guess I have to go to some stupid ass funeral for Martinez. If you and Liam have time, meet me there." Harry says, grabbing his keys off their place on the little key rack they kept by the door. 

"I thought we weren't posting runners for another week." 

"Yeah, I didn't think we were either but to hell with what I think. Daddy has given the orders, I'm just the fucking messenger." Harry says, not caring how bitter he sounded as he spoke. Louis doesn't flinch at the tone either, used to how bitter Harry always sounded when he spoke about Victor. 

"Alright. I'll post the runners and take Liam to the pier. What time is the funeral?" Louis asks, earning another look from Harry. 

"I'm going to assume around noon, we're just making an appearance. I don't know why because honestly I feel like it's just going to make the cops even more suspicious, but like I said. I'm just the messenger."


	9. Chapter 9

eight: to forgive and to forget

"What are we even doing here?" Liam asks, beyond confused as Louis parks his car just outside the shipping dock. Louis lets out a sigh, running a hand over his face as he looks over towards the crime scene that was still marked in yellow tape. 

"Victor wants us to make a stop by, make sure that everything got cleaned up." Louis says and Liam gives him a look.

"The cops already got the evidence they needed.." Liam says slowly and Louis rolls his eyes. 

"I know, but Victor doesn't. We just need to pretend like that's what we came here to do. We're only going to sit here for about fifteen minutes and then we're going to meet Harry over at the cemetery." Louis says, looking out the window as Liam takes a deep breath. 

"So when were you going to mention the fact that you're f ucking Harry?" Liam asks and Louis practically chokes. 

"W-What are you talking about?" Louis splutters out, looking at Liam with an expression filled with absolute terror and what he was hoping to be disbelief. 

"I'm not an idiot, Louis. I saw you both last night and it really doesn't take a genius to see the way you look at him. Does Wilkinson know?" Liam asks and Louis can't breathe for a moment, he knew this would eventually come up. Louis and Harry weren't very good at hiding their relationship around the house, but they never really had a reason as to why they had to until Liam showed up. Louis just wasn't expecting Liam to catch on within the first twenty four hours was all. 

"He doesn't know it's Harry." Louis finally whispers, refusing to look at Liam as the other boy nods slowly. Louis starts to feel sick, unsure of what was going to happen next. Liam was going to have to make a choice... one that was either going to make or break Louis. 

"The other day, when you said there were some people you weren't going to let me take down with Victor... Harry's one of those people." 

"He hasn't done anything wrong, alright? His father is just... He was born into the wrong family but he hasn't done anything wrong." Louis whispers, feeling sick to his stomach because he didn't know what else to say. Liam doesn't say anything for quite some time, the silence in the car almost suffocating for Louis because if Liam wanted to... he could take this new found information to Wilkinson and take Louis off the case entirely. Louis couldn't protect Harry if he wasn't there. 

"My job is take down Victor, not Harry." Liam finally says, breaking the silence and Louis finally remembers to breathe. 

"Thank you." 

"Don't thank me... I'm just doing my job." And that seems to end the conversation. The two of them sit in the car a little while longer before Louis starts it back up and pulls out of the parking lot. 

\----------

Harry stuck out like a sore thumb standing at the back of the crowd as he pretends to listen to whatever the hell the priest was saying. The family of Benjamin Martinez stood in the front, his wife crying as she held both of their children close to her. Harry felt bad for her, he knew what it was like to lose someone. Not even a year ago, Harry stood in the same spot as her. Victor didn't seem to remember what it was like though, or at least he liked to pretend he didn't. Harry wasn't surprised by that though, to his father, his sister and mother were just distant memories. The only reason why Victor even acknowledged the fact his sister existed was because of Jacob, but Harry knew that Victor just wanted to forget. 

Harry wanted to forget too though, he wanted to forget that gaping hole in his chest. He wanted to forget how empty he felt most nights, he wanted to forget a lot of things... It wasn't as easy for him as it was for Victor and Harry hated him for it. He hated how easy it was for him to pretend like nothing ever happened, like they weren't dead because of him.... because of his arrogance. 

"Dock is secure." Louis says the second he stands next to Harry, earning a nod from Harry who refuses to look away from the weeping family. He wanted more than anything to walk up to them and tell them how sorry he was, not only for their loss... but his part in it. Louis seems to catch on to Harry's somber mood and he grabs the hand that hung at Harry's side. Liam stands behind the two of them, shaking his head a little but he doesn't say anything. They stand there like that for only a few minutes before Harry finally decides he's ready to head back home. He could only watch them cry for so long before he knew those tears were just for show. 

"I think we've been here long enough." Harry says, letting go of Louis' hand and pushing past Liam towards where he'd parked his car. 

"Go with him." Louis whispers to Liam, earning a look from Liam. 

"I'm pretty sure you're the one who's supposed to go with him." 

"I'm not the one capable of bringing him peace. So go do your job."


End file.
